Tuesday 12 May 2015

Creating dreams.

Dreams are strange things, both the kind you have when you're sleeping and the kind you have when you're awake. Generally though, the ones you have when you're asleep don't resonate with you for long periods of time. Instead they remain in your brain for about a minute after you wake only to disappear from your memory moments later.

I used to keep a dream journal. It was my goal to master the art of lucid dreaming. I already was the kind of person who could wake themselves up in a nightmare if I figured out fast enough I was in fact in my own dream. I would be running away from whatever scary monster my brain conjured up, and I would say "hey...this isn't real" and I would close my eyes really tight, open them suddenly and poof! I was back in my own room, in the safety of my bed sheets.

The idea I could do more within my dreams, that I could control them and somehow form my own "Inception" used to fascinate me. As soon as I woke up I would write down everything I could remember from my dream, no matter how tired or loopy I was. Sometimes my words and jumbled sentences wouldn't make sense but usually I would piece the puzzle back together and my elaborate fairytale of a dream would come rushing back to me. I got a little better as time went on. Slowly I didn't need my journal to remember my dreams. They didn't escape me as fast as they used to, and the more I was aware of my dreams, the more aware I became in them. It was entralling.

Lately, I've been discovering lucid dreaming doesn't only have to happen in the dreams we create when we sleep. I'm noticing the dreams I create for myself in the physical world, my goals and aspirations, can also be controlled.

I had breakfast with a friend this morning who sat and listened to me ramble about the dreams I have for myself and the worries I have about them. She told me I should stop for a moment and reflect on what I have achieved so far and take credit because I was the one who made those dreams happen. While God, luck, and fate definitely played greater parts in the making of my dreams, I had a say in the outcome too which doesn't equate to nothing. For it was I who hit publish on my blog, and bought my first camera and yes to my first wedding gig. It was me.

You see, we are constantly controlling how our dreams are created and formed. We are creating them everyday and building upon them. We are making choices for ourselves all the time and we may not realise it but those choices are made so we can one day accomplish something greater for ourselves.

Turns out I'm not just a dreamer. In fact, I'm a creator. I create my dreams and I create the steps needed to accomplish them. I create new limits for myself and new challenges. I create everyday through my thought processes and through my choices and without even realising it I have made my dreams a reality. I have been so focused on what's next on my agenda I have failed to recognise my accomplishments.

I challenge you this week to reflect on your dreams. To write them down and believe in them, no matter how jumbled or crazy they are. But I also challenge you to reflect on the dreams you used to have for yourself. Have you accomplished them? Have you been working towards them?

x

16 comments:

  1. holy mackerel, you gem of a lady. what is this? what even is this? how can words and light say so much, help so much?
    thank you.

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  2. It always feels so weird when I read somebody else's writing and I'm like, "This is me but I don't remember writing this; wait a second!" I definitely think I have to work on giving myself credit. The next dream/goal pops up too soon to cloud my mind and make me forget all about the old ones I've crossed off the list.

    Also, oh my good gracious those photos. What kind of light is back-lighting the [rain?]? You are so incredible. ♥

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    1. Oh thank you so much. I used a remote flash/speedlight for these images. It was so much fun to play with

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  3. I just really love the way you write. I think I may not be working hard enough towards my dreams, maybe because my head is too high up in the clouds most of the time, but at my own pace, I'm slowly getting there I guess. I think this topic might occupy my thoughts for a while.. Thank you !

    xx, Charlie
    http://charlieleschroniques.blogspot.com/

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  4. This... is absolutely wonderful.

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  5. you are beautiful, my friend. i love those pictures!
    and thank you for writing this. i sure needed to be reminded of what I have already accomplished and not so much focus on all that's left to do.

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  6. Okay, Samantha. SAMANTHA. We are on the same wavelength with so many things it astounds me. When you said, "Turns out I'm not just a dreamer. In fact, I'm a creator," I about burst.

    I had this boyfriend who I thought was wonderful for me, but turned out to be the type of person who was really good at making subtle comments that seemed like a compliment at the time which actually turned out to be delayed insults. (Sorry I'm having a love affair with run-on sentences these days.) One time, we took these personality tests and he looked at my results. He said, "So you're the dreamer, I'm the doer." And from then on, I took that identity on. Like the 19-year-old with low self-esteem that I was. I wasn't a doer. I was a dreamer.

    I took an art class which focused a whole lot on dreams. On taking them seriously. On acknowledging that you even have them. On giving them the time of day, because if they aren't worth the time then what is?! Your dreams are apart of you. You have them for a reason - probably because you were meant to do whatever they involve, and some part of you deep down knows that. We just don't want to acknowledge that because it might mean doing something scary. It might mean saying yes to that first wedding or taking a risk that you don't feel ready for.

    But who is ever ready, really? I just love this so, so much because how can we ever accomplish our dreams if we don't even dare consider what those dreams are?

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    1. Meg, thank you for this response. I love sharing my thoughts and feelings with people who truly understand where I'm coming from. Dreams are indeed a part of us, no matter how ridiculous they are. We are dreamers but I think we can also be doers. If anything a doer who is inspired and motivated by their dreams is the kind of person I want to be!

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  7. I love the idea of creating real-life dreams, and aspiring towards them. I also think it's so cool how you can wake yourself up from nightmares. It just sounds so surreal. But back to waking everyday dreams, I really like this post because it's making me feel a little motivated. There's so much I want to do, and so much I don't want to do to get there. I guess you must go through the bad to get to the good. No one said it was going to be easy.

    -M
    The Life of Little Me

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  8. These photos are incredible!! And such true words, thanks!

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  9. These are so amazing, I could not help by smile a lot when I saw one on Instagram!
    I think we meed to go on a photography adventure and do something fun like this please :)

    You are too right, we are in control of out dreams and our lives. We are creators in our lives :)

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  10. This is so like... POOF! Craazzyy..

    Love it!!

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  11. I have spent the days since you published this, Sam, trying to figure out exactly what it is I wanted to say in response, but just kept coming back to thank you.

    So, thank you <3

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  12. I love this! First of all, the photos are stunning!

    But what you talked about... I loved what you had to say about not only working toward making dreams come true, but also recognizing past dreams that you accomplished or the big steps that you made along the way. That's so true! We often look ahead at what we want and we don't take time to focus on what we've already done, and we totally should. Thanks for the reminder!

    And lucid dreaming... I've always been fascinated by that too. I'm the same way with bad dreams; when I'm having a bad dream I can always tell myself in the dream that it's not real and wake myself up. I've kept dream journals off and on over the years. Once it was for a college psych class that I took in high school and for our dream journal we were told to repeat over and over before we went to bed "I will wake up after I have a dream." I actually woke up more in the middle of the night doing that. The idea is that if you can subconsciously tell yourself to wake up after a dream, you'll wake up when the dream is still fresh in your mind and remember more details. That was really cool! :)

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  13. Your posts are always so inspiring Sam ♥

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